John Smith, so he is called today, isn’t from Earth.He is from Lorien.He is one of nine aliens from that planet who have legacies (powers) along with their guardians who have come to hide on Earth.They are hiding from those who destroyed Lorien, the Mogadorians.Now those Mogadorians are looking for them, to kill them.But the Mogadorians have bigger plans, to destroy Earth.They suck up the resources using them thoughtlessly.The nine are being hunted down one at a time.They are separated for their own perfection. As long as they are apart, they can only be killed in numerical order.John knows that the first three have already been killed because they are connected and he has a burning mark on his ankle for each dead Lorien.The problem is that John in number four.They are after him.John tries to blend in but it isn’t easy as he meets Sarah and makes his first best friend, Sam.Can he find the strength to leave them, to hide from those that are hunting him?Or will his staying put be the end of him and his planets best chance to be restored?

My thoughts:

I wish I could like this book, I really do.I like the premise.It’s an interesting twist on paranormal books.I liked the sci-fi aspects of it.I liked the legacies that come over time.I even liked John.He was venerable and very much a teenager but he also drives me crazy.He is irrational and flighty. I hated how right in the middle of the action, he went off on these pondering rampages.I guess that what I really didn’t like was the writing. John only did what the author told him to.But so much of it wasn’t John.It’s like the character isn’t allowed to progress as he should.He was forced.

The other character that made me nuts was Sarah.She is so two-dimensional.The interaction between her and John is so superficial that I don’t know how they fall in love.So much is summarized instead of experienced.

I did like Sam and I even came to like Mark.I also liked John’s guardian.All of them were full dynamic characters.They were only supporting characters though and not enough to keep the story rich and full.The writing was just too choppy and not developed.The book could have been good.It just needed some more work.Too bad.

The end of the book should have broken my heart but it didn’t.I was just glad it was finally over.So much of the story should have compelled me forward but it took me forever to get through the last half of the book.I think I’ll skip the sequel.

Ellie is your normal seventeen-year-old girl in high school who can see reapers.Oh wait, that isn’t normal.She’s been having nightmares of fighting reapers for a while but when Ellie turns seventeen, she starts seeing them for real and she starts fighting them.What she really wants is to be a normal teenager but that’s a little hard when she turns out to be the preliator, a mortal who has the power to kill reapers.Of course, her parents and friends have no idea about that side of her life, which causes her some problems.She didn’t even know about it until the very hot and yummy Will entered the story.Things get very interesting from there!

My rating: 5/5 – loved it

Ellie- I love Ellie.She is a strong female character that can protect herself.She still needs and wants Will around but she is strong in her own right.I love that.She isn’t strong by bashing the men around her either (like some other books that I won’t mention).She has great relationships with her friends.She cares about her mother (I won’t mention her father).She wants to be a normal teenager and is frustrated that she can’t.I love her spirit.

Will – He is incredible.Will loves Ellie, that is obvious but it’s not in his job description.He is her guardian, given the task of protecting her in battle from an Angel and nothing more.He tries very hard to keep things that way but while Ellie can’t remember everything from her previous lives, she does feel that strong connection to Will.He keeps things from her and causes some mystery because of it.He will do anything to protect her.He is my favorite character in the book and the reason that I love it.

The world that is created is intriguing.It’s not your normal paranormal angel story.The reapers are stealing human souls to build Lucifer’s army.The preliator is the best weapon Heaven has.She is sent in again and again.When she dies, she is reincarnated to fight again.Will stays with her over the years and has the power to awaken her.He has been with her for over 5 centuries.But her enemies are trying a new approach.Killing her doesn’t keep her out of the fight long enough.I like this world that Courtney Allison Moulton has built.

I loved this book and can’t wait for the next installment but I have to say that the ending ripped my heart out and it’s taken me a while to get over it.If you love paranormal, this one is a must.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

My thoughts:Meaghan Chase is once again thrown into the world of the Fey trying to save the day. It may be too much to ask for her to save everything though but she is certainly going to try. I love how Meaghan grew in this book. She can now stand in a fight. She still stands up to everyone but has a little something behind that bravery now.

I was incredibly impressed with Ash as well. I’m not sure how anyone can be team Puck any longer. Ash opens up to Meaghan. He loves her and it shows. Don’t get me wrong, that ice Prince makes an appearance but he can’t stay mad at Meaghan. His character development was so enjoyable.

Puck did a good job of keeping everyone laughing. I was glad that he didn’t disappear into the Nevernever. How much fun could the Iron Fey series be without Puck?

And then there was Grimalkin. Who can forget the cat? I loved this character as much as ever. Julia does a great job of capturing the essence of a cat in the personality of Grimalkin. He still disappears when trouble appears and is still the one with the answers. He made the last line perfect without even being present!

The book had me in tears at times as well as beyond happy at other times. I enjoyed the twists and turns and only once wanted to throw the book. (What good book doesn’t deserve to be thrown at least once, right?) At times I wanted to yell at Meaghan and at other times I was so proud of her. And of course, I was thrilled that there will be a fourth book, The Iron Knight, Ash’s story. It’s about time he got more attention, Meaghan has had enough.

I gave this book 5 stars and I would recommend it to anyone. I have started getting my students as well as fellow teachers interesting in the series.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Penny Lane, so named, by her Beatle crazed parents, after the song.Pen has been fantasying about the same boy since, well forever.Nate is the son of a family friend and they grew up together. They even walked down the aisle together at a cousins wedding, cute picture.Nate turns out to be a jerk, though, as he cheats on her soon after they are a couple.Pen is devastated and decides to give up boys by forming her own Lonely Hearts Club of one.Soon word is out about the club and she is inundated with new members, all sick of being treated bad by boys.The problem is that Pen is starting to feel draw towards Ryan and she isn’t allowed to date, it’s in the club rules.Will the school put up with this anti-boy club?Does Ryan return Pen’s feelings?Will the club help or hurt the members to have joined?

Nate- I’m having a hard time buying this one.Nate supposedly cheats on her only a few weeks into their relationship, in her house.He is visiting.He has been spending all his time with her.Where does he get this girl from?Did he pull her off the street?Besides, he has been interesting in Pen for just as long as she has, why would he suddenly do this?And then the way he acts afterwards is ridiculous.He begs to get her back for weeks and months.He emails.He texts.He calls.He begs.He beats himself up and calls himself names?Never met a boy like that and I am a teacher of teenagers.

Ryan- Um where to start.Ryan is perfect.He is one of only two boys in the story who are portrayed as acceptable.The rest are “devils spawn”. He is so perfect that he takes Pen’s cruelty and comes back for more, after a reasonable period of anger of course.It is so obvious that he likes Pen but she doesn’t see it.

Tyson- He is the only other male that is worthy in this book.I like him.He is a musician but he is shy at school.He wants to ask one of the girls out but never has.Again, it frustrates me that there are only two guys who deserve to be given the time of day.

Penny- She drives me nuts.Is she bipolar or something?One minute she is attracted to Ryan and the next she is insulting him.She bashes on guys to a ridiculous extent.I just don’t buy it.Teenage girls get mad at guys, they ignore guys, they might even decide not to date – but I cannot believe that they would ever decide to not date for the next two years!And then they do not find another 30 or 40 girls in a high school that are willing to do the same thing, absolutely ridiculous.

Penny’s parents – What world did they come from?Her parents are so devoted to the Beatles that they become vegetarians and allow their daughter to have a club that bashes guys as long as they are playing Beatles music at the meetings.What self-respecting Dad would allow his daughter to hate on guys this way?

Moral- I guess the moral to the story is that guys don’t define girls.Well yeah, but can we communicate that without making it out that guys are the evil ones.Girls are drama queens and do just as many mean things to guys as guys do to them.(Again, teacher of teenagers here)I guess my bottom line is that this is realistic fiction and it so wasn’t.Skip this one and read Prom and Prejudice instead, much better book.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Hayden is a shifter.She shifts for the first time at the full moon after her seventeenth birthday.But unlike most shifters, Hayden can feel other shifters emotions.They overwhelm her.She struggles to be around them for any length of time. Her parents died when she was 5 and she has been at a boarding school with human most of her life, since human emotions don’t effect her.She returns home, to Wolford, twice a year to be with her kind.She has returned again in preparation for her full moon but the emotions of a shifters death send her running away.She will go through her full moon alone, a dangerous prospect for any female shifter.Normally, a female shifter would go through her first shift with her mate to distract her from the pain.But the emotions of Wolford are not the only reason that Hayden wants to try.The elders have no interest in her trying, they send the hot and mysterious Daniel to find her and bring her back and they have chosen him to be her mate.Will she except Daniel and let him help her survive her first shift or will she refuse to let him risk his life for her?Will Daniel be able to convince her to return?

My thoughts:

My bias is that I love Rachel Hawthorne’s writing.She does such a nice job of giving a few clues and some nice surprises along the way.The story follows a similar path to the other dark guardian stories but with twists to make is enjoyable and different.I loved the characters.Daniel had showed up in the last book but we didn’t know him very well.In this book, he takes center stage and pulls off that tall dark and I’m protecting you whether you like it or not attitude.Hayden is a new character and she is strong and thoughtful.I sympathized with her and rooted for her.The world of the dark guardians continue with the characters from the previous books there for brief rolls.I love this world that Rachel has created.It is rich and full.I have enjoyed the series and hope that she writes more in it.I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Jamie has graduated from high school and has a basketball scholarship to college.She is looking forward to spending the summer with her Dad at the cabin; that is until he decides his new girlfriend should come too.So Jamie bails on her Dad and decides to spend the summer in the city with her Mom.Too bad Mom forgot to mention that she has a live-in boyfriend.Very uncomfortable for Jamie.Uncomfortable is the word for Jamie for this summer.Uncomfortable that her Dad enrolled her in a lacrosse class with girls many years younger than her.Uncomfortable that she ends up with a college guy for her coach that she is attracted too.Uncomfortable that the guy next door (a poet) is really into her and Jamie not so much.Jamie goes from trying to endure one thing to another.Will she ever get to go out this the guy she actually likes?Will he even speak to her?Will she get a summer job?Can she survive a summer job?Will she find the summer romance she was hoping for?

My thoughts:

Elizabeth Chandler does a good job of misdirecting the reader into not seeing the clues she has left behind.I like that in a book.I want some surprises.I don't want to figure everything out on my own.I really like the characters.They seem real.Josh, the coach, is a great puzzle that finally was a great picture at the end.Andrew is a piece of work.He has all the right moves for any girl; unfortunately he doesn't listen very well.I loved the teacher, the big M.She was perfect.The romance in the book was hot.I loved the kissing scene in the gym, it made the book!

If you like a fun easy read that draws you in and keeps you there, then you will like this book.

Enjoy the read! Summary:

Jamie has graduated from high school and has a basketball scholarship to college.She is looking forward to spending the summer with her Dad at the cabin; that is until he decides his new girlfriend should come too.So Jamie bails on her Dad and decides to spend the summer in the city with her Mom.Too bad Mom forgot to mention that she has a live-in boyfriend.Very uncomfortable for Jamie.Uncomfortable is the word for Jamie for this summer.Uncomfortable that her Dad enrolled her in a lacrosse class with girls many years younger than her.Uncomfortable that she ends up with a college guy for her coach that she is attracted too.Uncomfortable that the guy next door (a poet) is really into her and Jamie not so much.Jamie goes from trying to endure one thing to another.Will she ever get to go out this the guy she actually likes?Will he even speak to her?Will she get a summer job?Can she survive a summer job?Will she find the summer romance she was hoping for?

My thoughts:

Elizabeth Chandler does a good job of misdirecting the reader into not seeing the clues she has left behind.I like that in a book.I want some surprises.I don't want to figure everything out on my own.I really like the characters.They seem real.Josh, the coach, is a great puzzle that finally was a great picture at the end.Andrew is a piece of work.He has all the right moves for any girl; unfortunately he doesn't listen very well.I loved the teacher, the big M.She was perfect.The romance in the book was hot.I loved the kissing scene in the gym, it made the book!

If you like a fun easy read that draws you in and keeps you there, then you will like this book.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Brittany grew up believing that under the full moon after her seventeenth birthday she would shift into a wolf like her mother before her.She had prepared for it.She looked forward to it.She dreamed of it.Female pack members were supposed to choose a mate to go through the first shift with them.Males went through it alone after their eighteenth birthday.It was supposed to be very painful to do alone.A mate could help you get through it alive.Brittany had no mate to take with her.She’d been set up but no guys seemed to take an interest in her.She knew who she wanted to go through it with, but he only had eyes for another.She would have to face it alone because she wanted to be a dark guardian and protect the secret of the existence of the pack.But the only secret she ends up protecting in the one where she doesn’t shift.The full moon came and went but she stayed the same.What is wrong with her?Is this why no guys had been drawn to her?Could she fix what was wrong with her?When she returns to find that, Conner, the guy she has felt drawn to forever is finally free to notice her, she realizes that if she ever has a chance with him, he can’t know she isn’t a shifter.But how can she hide this forever?Should she run away?Should she tell him and everyone else the truth?But there is a threat to the pack, she has to help.But without being a shifter, can she really be any help?

My thoughts:

Brittany was a minor character in the first two books in this series.In those books, she was didn’t really open up to anyone.She was lost in her exercise routine and seemed very standoffish.I will admit that when I realized that the next book was centered on her, I wasn’t very excited to read it.But I had loved the first two books and I really enjoy Rachel Hawthorne books, so I read it anyway.I am so glad that I did.What comes out of Brittany’s mouth and what is going on in her head is so different.She uses her comments to protect herself.She feels deeply about Conner and struggles to deal with it.I loved how she was so real.I think it made me realize how much people can be different from what they appear to be to other people.As for Conner, I was very impressed with him.Some people may think that he got over Lindsey too fast and fell too hard for Brittany, but I disagree.The world that Rachel has created in the Dark Guardian books is a world where the male shifter falls hard and fast for a girl he may have been around for a while.When the time is right, it happens.Such is the case for Conner.He had been committed to Lindsey during the first two books but when she chooses Rafe, it’s like Conner woke up.

Of course I loved the world of the Dark Guardians.Shifters that don’t shift the first time until their seventeenth (girls) or eighteenth (boys) birthday and the romance of having the guys help the girls through the experience makes for an exciting romance.The traditions of the pack make it easy to leave some old fashion but exciting customs in place.Love it.The plot of this book was unpredictable.I love it when a book fools me.I am really too good at guessing where a book is going but I didn’t this time.I figured a few things out but enjoyed the ride.I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.I wish all three books came together as one because they really go well together.